So Here I Am

Hello! I didn't mean to disappear for a few days, but I ended up having a lot of stuff to take care of that just took all of my time. Not that I think you were all getting ready to call out a search party, but anyway I'm here now. 

I usually don't write a post on a Tuesday morning, because I'm usually at my volunteer gig taking care of kitties. However, the ones that were there have all been adopted, and they won't get more there until this afternoon, so I'm at home this morning. I did tell a woman I would cover her Thursday morning shift for her while she was out of town, so I have an extra day this week.

Thank you so much for all of the kind words about my Christmas sweater, it was such a boost to hear that you all thought it was as nice as I did. I'm still sort of surprised that it all turned out so well. You know how it is when you try something for the first time and it works out really well - you're not sure if you really did it the right way, or if it was beginner's luck. 😊

If I haven't mentioned it (and I'm too lazy to go back and check), I did finish the cardigan I've been knitting. It's been blocked and the ends woven in, now it's just waiting for buttons. I found a couple of the right size that I already have, and both of them would be fine. But I'm tempted to look for different ones. The person who wrote the pattern put really lovely hand-made ceramic buttons on hers, and it's tempting to order some of those from the same place she bought them. But most of the choices are definite colors, except for "oatmeal" which I think is just too bland for a sweater that is kind of that color. Also, are ceramic buttons practical? I don't know. Anyway, this decision-making (or lack thereof) is what is keeping me from the last part of actually making the sweater wearable. 

In any case, I have gotten started on my first new project of 2026:

Oh look, socks - what a shock! I feel kind of lost when I don't have a sock going, so I was itching to cast on. For reasons that I cannot really logically explain, I signed up for the 2026 Farmer's Daughters Fiber Sock Club (WHY? I have too much sock yarn already, and can't really afford it. But I'm just going to move on, because I have gone over it already with no real reason or solution). 

Anyway, this is the first of the packages - a beautiful, lightly speckled blue yarn called Deep Winter, with a light gray mini included. The yarn is really lovely to work with, and it's working well with the pattern I think. The pattern is Hedgerow Socks, by Jane Cochran. I knit this pattern years ago for a pair of gift socks, and always meant to return to it for myself. It's a fairly easy, memorizable pattern repeat, provided that you pay attention. Ahem.

Other than that, I have a long-term on the needles project that continues (Cozy Memories Blanket) and a project I started last winter and then put aside over the summer and didn't pick up again (Artus Shawl) that need some love. Both of those are longer-term things though, so now I'm decided what project to add that will be traded off regularly with the socks to work on. Whatever it is, I am only going to consider things that I already have the yarn to knit, because it's already ridiculous enough that I'll be getting sock yarn every month. 

Not much else that is new to report this morning. We got Christmas put away until the end of this year, and are in the process of cleaning the house after all of that. I'm trying to get The Tim to start thinking of what he would like to try and do with getting our carport rebuilt - I told him I thought this year we should focus on that and getting the second floor bathroom completed as our big house projects. If he could get his act together and decide what he wants for the carport, we could grab the contractor at a less busy time and theoretically at least, get started. Getting The Tim to focus on something like that is a hard thing though, so I'm hoping that he will somehow get a lighting strike of his own and decide it should happen SOON.

That's all for now. Time to head to the post office to send in a return, and then stop at CVS to pick up a prescription refill. So much excitement in just one day! 😂

My Christmas Sweater and Cat Adoptions

Hello there! Before the holidays are too far behind us, I wanted to show you the photos of me wearing the Christmas sweater I knit for myself last year. As you may or may not remember, by the time I finished blocking it, weaving in the ends, etc., it was too warm to get a photo of how it looked on an actual person.

Well, I had a few chances to wear it over Christmastime, and I have to tell you, I am so happy with this sweater! It's comfortable, it's cozy, and the neckline is perfect (which is not always the case for me). I felt so special the times I wore it out to a play, for a coffee get-together with one friend, and a lunch with another. 

The pattern is Yule Do, by Isabell Kraemer, and the details are here on my Ravelry project page for it. I can highly recommend this pattern - once you get going on the yoke, it makes complete sense, and the yarns I used were two that I wish I could afford to use all of the time!

Let me know if you decide to try it!

*****

In cat adoptions news, two exciting tidbits from the last couple of days.

Yesterday was my regular volunteer day, and there were two kitties available for adoption. They were, of course, both perfect. One person had made an appointment to come in and adopt a cat, and she arrived a bit late, but knew which kitty she was most interested in. Things went smoothly, and as she was leaving the adoption center, another young woman was standing outside. She asked if she could see the remaining kitty. I told here that unfortunately, only approved adopters were allowed to actually meet the kitties. She said, "Oh I was just approved yesterday!" so she came in to see the remaining kitty.

After spending about 10 minutes playing with him and cuddling, she said, "You know, I wasn't sure how long it would take me to meet the kitty who was for me, but I just know this is my cat!" And it really was love at first sight for both of them! She ran home to get her cat carrier, and when she returned, she showed me that inside was a little blanket she had recently crocheted for the carrier for her new cat - convincing me even more that this was a perfect match!

So both of those things made me happy, and seemed like a good start for 2026. But then two other things happened that made it even better - one is that I was the person to process the first two adoptions of this year! I didn't even realize it until I got a note from the adoption coordinator congratulating me. So that was a nice surprise.

And then today they sent out an e-mail to all of the volunteers with yearly stats and such, and at our location alone, we managed to find homes for 187 kitties! Isn't that just the best news of all? I cannot tell you how happy that made me, and what a good start it was to my day.

I just hope I can keep these things in mind as then year goes on and the world gets more and more ... worldly? You know what I mean!

I hope you have some news or some experience today that just makes it all worthwhile for you. See you next time!

Is It Wrong That I Want One?

I saw an article last week, saying that these hats were being worn by a lot of people in Greenland in advance of the visit from the Vice-President and the Second Lady. 

Is it wrong that I want one? I don't want America to go away, really. Just the current iteration of leadership, from the top right down to the local level. They really all need to just go away.

*****

Here we are, on the last day of March. I know that Kym's birthday is here, so best wishes! It's always nice to find another March birthday person. 

Of course that means that tomorrow is April 1, aka April Fool's Day. I have my volunteer gig tomorrow morning, so I hope the kitties are not planning a prank for me. 😊 (Though I should probably be more worried about my own kitties at home, to be honest ...)

Have a good rest of the day, and here's hoping that April has good things in store for all of us.

Cats, Fall Decorations, and Workers

Well, I'm glad you all seemed to enjoy my post about my volunteer job - I'm enjoying it, and that is really the most important thing.  Yesterday there was only one kitty, a 4-month-old calico, called Gabby.

Unfortunately, Gabby had a pretty bad kitty cold, so in the afternoon she returned to the main clinic to get some medicine and TLC. She was so cuddly and sweet while I was with her. She *loved* all the stupid songs I made up to sing to her. ❤

Over this past weekend, when the weather was still lovely, I was folding some laundry and saw something I had never witnessed before:

Will you look at that! Miss Esme enjoying sitting in the sunshine in the guest bedroom window! Maybe she does it a lot when I don't see her, but this was the first time I'd ever seen it happen. Of course, the Koodle chased her out of the window and downstairs within about 10 minutes, because he is a brat. But she seemed to enjoy it while it lasted ... 

Even though she is still pretty much scared of everything and everyone, she has made a LOT of progress compared to the kitty who came home with us originally. I'm hoping the progress will continue as she sees that we have not yet beat up or killed any of the other cats who live here (and trust me, the Koodle challenges us 24/7 on that front).

For specific reasons that currently escape me, last week I decided that we needed some nice and new fall and Halloween decorations. So I was poking around and found some at Target online, and even better they were on sale. So I ordered two Halloween decorations and a fall wreath. Since Target is good about returning things, I figured if they didn't live up to their online appearance, I would return them.

When I opened the box, I was happily surprised! All three things were exactly what I was hoping they would be, especially the fall wreath - as a matter of fact, it might even be nicer than I was expecting! Here it is still in the box, since it's not time to display it yet. But isn't it pretty?

The Halloween things are tucked away, but I'll try to remember to show them to you when I get them out to decorate.

As I am writing this, there is a work crew in front of our house, demolishing the brick planter that partially collapsed about a month ago. Two different people gave me estimates, and both agreed that rather than fix it, it would make more sense to remove it and cement over where it had been. Apparently when it was first added, it was not connected to the house - so it would only fall apart again down the road. I liked it well enough, but it had started looking sad over the past couple of years, and then the collapse was just the end. We're just planning to buy some nice planters to fill with flowers, etc. next spring. Quite a few people around here do that, and it looks really lovely, and still gives some outside the house pretties to see.

The guy who is heading the crew doing the work looks like he would be the son of "The Sopranos" character called Paulie Walnuts. 

So I've been calling him Paulie Walnuts, Jr. (obviously not to his face, his actual name is Joe). He's really nice, but he embodies the whole Italian-American stereotype, and it cracks me up. Also, from the get-go he called me "Bridge," and it amuses me so much when people I either don't know at all, or barely know, call me that. No one in my family or among my close friends has ever called me that, but so many random people go there automatically! 😂

But you know what? God bless them for doing the work on a day like today, when the temperatures are supposed to be 97 degrees Fahrenheit with the ever-popular "feels like" temperature being 107 degrees. I would already be passed out, so I am thankful for anyone who does outside physical hard work when it feels like you've entered the gates of hell when you step outside.

And that's it for today. I'm off to work on a few projects inside, so I can get them finished and check them off the to-do list. I hope your day is a good one!

Tuesdays Are For ...

Kitties!

I have started volunteering for PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society) at one of their locations in a Petsmart not too far from my house. I have the Tuesday morning shift, and this will be my 3rd week there. 

This is a location that is somewhat small, and they only adopt out cats. But that's fine with me, since as you know I am able to tolerate cats. 😏 I am only able to do this because PAWS is a no-kill rescue, so I don't have to worry about learning that a kitty I saw one week had to be euthanized for space when I get there next time. I am not emotionally strong enough for that.

But so far it's been fun. The first week, there was a bonded pair of older cats who were sisters and they were so sweet! They loved cuddles and playing. Fortunately, they were adopted together the week in between my shifts. 

The pictures above are the group from last week. The top and bottom kittens are littermates, and the one in the middle is a singleton. The littermates were adopted in my last shift, and the other kitten the day after. 

Basically, I go in and feed them, clean up their litter boxes and cages, and cuddle and play with them. I forgot how ridiculously messy kittens are! Honestly, it always looks like a bomb went off in their cages. So yeah, it can be messy, and smelly, and sometimes even gross, but being able to spend time with them is just the best. 

Whether or not they are kittens, most of them like some cuddles or pets. And of course kittens are just all over the place, so they are good for a laugh! Needless to say, when I come home, even though I wash up and put whatever clothes I was wearing into the laundry, my own cats have to do some very thorough sniffing. I can see them wondering why I smell that way. But then they know I'll give them a treat or something, so all is forgiven.

So even though I don't have paid employment, I am getting out of the house besides my morning walks at least once a week. They have never failed to make me smile, and I like knowing that they are being adopted and making people happy.

The Tim enjoys my stories each week, though he told me at the beginning that I "should not bring my work home with me." 😂😂

But it's SOOOOOO tempting!